The Most Preposterous Kentucky Football Scheduling Idea

It has been less than 24 hours since the SEC shared that starting in 2026, each school will play nine conference games and an additional power conference opponent every year. Deciphering which four-team pods will play annually has become an entertaining exercise that drives conversation during week zero. One idea has been floated amongst Kentucky football fans and it might be the dumbest idea to circulate on the World Wide Web.

Since the potential schedule change became a possibility, Kentuckians feared the in-state rivalry game between Louisville and Kentucky was on the chopping block. Fortunately, Greg Sankey’s mandate will save the Governor’s Cup.

Instead of celebrating, some folks had a different idea: Kentucky shouldn’t play Louisville every year. They should use that spot to rotate between other nearby teams, like Indiana, Cincinnati, and West Virginia. Give me a moment to explain the absurdity of that idea.

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Rivalries Matter More in College Football

As the northernmost school in the SEC, Kentucky does not have a number of traditional geographic rivals within its own conference. For years, the Wildcats and the Volunteers played for the Beer Barrel. Well before that trophy was scrapped, Kentucky didn’t carry its weight in the rivalry, which might be the fourth-biggest rival for the Vols.

Right around that time, the Governor’s Cup was created. Not only did it give Kentucky a trophy to play for, it added a meaningful football game to the schedule, particularly for members of BBN who live in the state’s largest city.

It’s impossible to accurately quantify what a rivalry win means for a program, so I’ll use some anecdotal evidence. In 2018, I ran into the father of an old friend outside of Kroger Field. He is a well-known curmudgeon, the kind of fan who shows up every Saturday and leaves the stadium mad more times than not, regardless of the outcome. He wanted to talk to me about one game.

“I’ve been sitting through Kentucky football games for 50 years. I don’t think I’ll ever be happier than being in that stadium when Lamar fumbled.”

This is how Jared Lorenzen described the rivalry with Louisville. Paraphrasing, “If you beat Louisville, you could have a good year. If you didn’t, the season might as well be over.”

There are many ways to gauge Mark Stoops’ success at Kentucky. You could say that he climbed the SEC ladder by regularly beating Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt. Those wins don’t move the needle like his wins over Florida and Louisville. A good season was elevated to “great” when the Cats knocked off Lamar in 2016 and upset the Top 10 Cards on the way to the 2023 ACC title game.

When playing the schedule game, it’s fun to envision something different. A game at Paul Brown Stadium against Scott Satterfield’s Cincinnati Bearcats could be fun. Indiana used to be an annual rival, why not bring it back?

In the SEC, it just means more. Beating Louisville means so much more to so many fans. The idea of replacing the Governor’s Cup with just another regional team is preposterous.